Not Afraid
by ReneyyySprouse
Summary: And sometimes no matter how old you get, some particualr situations simply outdo the wisdom of your years.
1. Back to Basics

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**Chapter One - Back to Basics.**

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Darkness had taken over. It laid his path in any and every direction that he turned. The space around him was limited, close and airless. An eerie groaning, creaking noise was all that could be heard each and every time that he moved, even in the slightest. It may have been a long while now since he had found himself in a situation like this, but he never remembered it being this much of a challenge.

Zack's heart began pounding loudly in his chest. He swore that he could hear it echoing against each of the walls around him. A single bead of sweat rolled down his face as he suddenly heard a dull mumbling sound erupt from his pocket. Squeezing his hand into the gap between his body and the wall, the older twin reached down into the depths of his pocket and retrieved his walkie-talkie.

"Say again, Codester? Over."

After no more than a couple of seconds, Zack heard his younger brother's voice resonate in response through the small speaker.

"I said are you ok? What's your location? Over."

Zack squinted his eyes and tried to look into the distance, "I dunno'. It's too dark to see anything. Over."

"Well, do you know which way to go?"

An awkward silence briefly took over the two as Cody waited impatiently for his brother's reply.

"Zack?"

"What? You didn't say 'over'."

Zack grinned at his own cynical nature as he listened to Cody groan in annoyance through the talkie.

"Alright, forget the 'over' bit," the younger twin began, "Do you know where you're going?"

"Of course I do," Zack snapped back, "It's just a little more difficult than I remember."

Trying to shuffle forward once more, Zack's eyes abruptly widened in delight as a beam of light appeared brightly ahead of him.

"Yes," he hissed to himself in success as enthusiasm rapidly took over him and he began gliding along faster than ever.

"Cody," he spoke in his talkie, "I see the way out, man, I won't be – "

"Oh no," Cody cut in abruptly.

Zack frowned and came to a sudden halt in his place, "What is it?" The older twin waited in silence, frantically anticipating a reply from his brother, "Cody?"

"The enemy's approaching," Cody said anxiously, "You don't have much time."

"Can't you distract him?"

"He's already spotted me!"

Zack felt his heart stop. He couldn't let their whole operation go under now – not after they had come this far. He hastily pressed the talk button on his talkie back in, "Get out of here, Cody. You have no choice but to retreat."

"No!" Cody argued, "I'm not leaving you behind."

"But, bro – "

Before Zack had the chance to even consider finishing his sentence, the line he held with his brother went dead. The buzzing static between the two walkie-talkies had disappeared, and the older twin was left in nothing back cold, dark stillness.

"Cody?" he dared to ask through the speaker, "Cody?"

Just as Zack opened his mouth to speak his younger brother's name again, a loud thumping echoed all around him, causing him to jump in surprise.

"Zack!" a familiar, angry voice thundered in close proximity, "Get out of the air vent! Now!"

Sighing in defeat, Zack gritted his teeth and began crawling along the metal air duct towards the beam of light he had spotted shining through the grate. He gently pushed it open and looked down to where a very irate Mr. Moesby stood with Cody in the middle of his office, glaring back up at the older twin.

"Wow," Zack said, holding his hands up in surrender, "I can't believe I actually remembered enough to make it all the way here."

Moesby growled angrily, "Get down from there, Zack."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm com– whoa!"

Cody flinched as he watched his twin fall from about six feet up the wall and land flat on his backside with a loud thud on the carpeted floor just before his feet.

"Ow," Zack complained, "I think I landed on my talkie."

Cody stuck his hand out and helped to pull his brother up off the ground, while the whistling sound of Moesby's annoyed growls still hummed in the background.

"Four days we've been off the ship. _Four days_," he emphasized crossly, "and already you two have reverted back your days of causing havoc in my hotel! If you're not planting toys as immature as stink bombs into the elevators, then you're creating a stampede up on the rooftop and knocking elderly women into the swimming pool!"

"We told her we were sorry," Cody argued lamely.

"And what do you mean 'immature'?" Zack said, jumping to the defense of his favourite means of a practical joke.

"Oh, please," Moesby belittled them, "I'm afraid I don't know of any other sixteen year old boys who insist on playing with such things."

"We **are** the only sixteen year old boys you know," Zack countered, "Besides Marcus and Woody –"

"Who is pretty much a walking stink bomb, anyway," Cody added.

"And besides, age is all up here," Zack went on, pointing to his temple, "you can get yourself through any situation as long as you put your mind to it."

"Be that as it may, that still gives you no liable excuse for crawling through my air conditioning vents. I'm surprised you still fit in there, anyway."

Zack licked his lips and opened his mouth in an attempt to dispute Mr. Moesby even further, but he was soon cut off as the hotel manager raised his hand to silence him, "And since I am only to assume that the reason you tried to sneak in here in the first place was to take back the stink bombs that I confiscated from you – no, you can't have them back!"

Rolling his eyes, Zack looked over to Cody who began to say something himself, "We're just bored Mr. Moesby. After spending a whole year on the ship, everything around here just seems… seems –"

"The same as it's always been," Zack sharply interjected.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but I'm afraid that's not my problem," Moesby stated simply, "Now, get back up to your suite before I have your mother lock you up there like you're twelve again."

With that then said, Zack rolled his eyes again and reluctantly followed Cody out of Moesby's office and back into the lobby of the Tipton hotel.

In all the months that the boys had been away from their hotel home, not a lot - if anything at all - had changed. The front desk still sat proudly by Moesby's office, the comfy lounge chairs were still placed welcomingly in the centre of the room, the candy counter hadn't shuffled an inch, and the huge, glass chandelier remained dangling down in the middle of the entire room. It was all exactly how the boys remembered when they had left. Even most of the employees were still there. Arwin, the boys' beloved hotel engineer, Norman the doorman, Patrick the restaurant manager, Irene the concierge and Esteban, the former bell boy who had been promoted to night manager. The only person missing was Maddie, who was off at the National College of Boston studying to be a nurse. Other than her absence, everything was exactly the same. Which, of course, only added to the twins' boredom.

"This sucks," Zack exclaimed, as he and Cody made their way towards the elevator.

Cody sighed wistfully, "I wish Bailey was here."

Zack groaned in aggravation as the double doors slid open before them, "I don't know what sucks more. Being stuck back in Boston with nothing to do, or listening to you go on and on about how much you miss Bailey. Seriously, didn't you cry over her enough on the ship?"

Looking down at his feet, Cody heaved another sad breath, "I'll bet if Bailey were here, she'd come up with something to do."

Zack raised an eyebrow, wondering if his brother had even been listening to what he had said to him. Shaking his head, the older twin eventually pressed the button numbered '23' and watched it light up as the elevator doors slowly closed in front of them, "Apparently, you didn't."

Once the sophomore year of the Semester at Sea sadly came to an end, many of the kids had decided to jump straight back on land for the summer to spend some long awaited time at home with their families. Others, however, including Zack, Cody and Bailey, had taken the other option of staying onboard and continuing to travel around on the ship over the summer months before they had to return to their homes and regular schools. It had certainly been a few weeks that the twins would never forget.

With the fact hanging over them that they weren't going to be living on the S.S. Tipton for much longer, they had made sure that their last weeks on deck were the most fun that they had ever had. And, evidently, it seemed that Cody was still trying to recover from becoming separated from Bailey.

The ship had docked in Boston on the previous Saturday, and now it was Tuesday – the boys' fourth day back at home, with their junior year of high school starting on the following Monday. It couldn't have possibly been a less exciting situation for them to find themselves in.

As the boys made their approach to the front door of suite 2330, Cody began fishing around in his pocket for his key. Carey was currently in a rehearsal downstairs in the ballroom, even though she had originally tried with all of her might to have the whole week off with the argument that she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her boys before school started again.

The day that they had arrived home, both Carey and Kurt were at the dock to meet the twins the second that they stepped off the boat. They both still held the memories, and the bruised limbs, from when Carey had hugged them tighter than Kirby, the S.S. Tipton's head security guard, ever had.

Just as Cody had managed to salvage the key to the suite from the pocket of his jeans, he and Zack both snapped their heads up at the sound of the telephone ringing beyond the door.

Cody quickly shoved the key into the lock and twisted it. The tumblers rolled and the door instantly opened, as the younger twin dashed over to the phone and took it off the receiver, "Hello?"

"Who is it?" Zack immediately cut in.

Cody waved his hand in an effort to keep Zack quiet, but he soon let it fall it as a wide smile beamed right across his face, "Hey, Bailey!"

Zack's expression dropped, "I'm out of here."

The younger twin stifled a laugh as he watched his twin slink off into their bedroom, obviously feeling quite unimpressed at the thought of having to listen to Cody and Bailey romance each other over the phone.

"Hey, sweetie," Bailey replied, regaining her boyfriend's attention, "How are you?"

"I'm good," Cody answered, "I miss you, though."

"Oh, Cody, I miss you, too."

Cody felt his cheeks turn pink in a blush, "What's going on?"

"Well, I actually have something to tell you," the farm girl said happily.

Cody raised an eyebrow, "What is it? Something good I hope?"

"The best!" Bailey exclaimed, "Ok, you know how I told you about Kansas Sate Academics - that school in Topeka just for junior and senior years that everyone down here absolutely dreams of getting into?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I found out that at the beginning of every junior year they give out two scholarships for two kids to attend the school for both junior and senior year. It was this essay competition thing, and I entered it."

Cody's eyes narrowed in hopeful suspicion, "Is there going where I think it's going?"

The younger twin instantly moved the phone away from his ear as Bailey squealed loudly in excitement, "Yes!" she cried cheerfully, "I got in! I'm going to be the first person in Kettlecorn to attend such a high academically rated school!"

"Bailey, that's amazing!" Cody cooed, imagining the beautiful look of happiness spread across his girlfriend's face, "I'm so proud of you."

"It's going to be the greatest ever," Bailey went on, "Not only is it the top school in Kansas, but it's one of the best in the entire country! It gives out so many opportunities for you to take your career pretty much wherever you want once you graduate."

Waiting for Bailey to continue, the look of elation fell slightly from Cody's face as he heard his Southern Belle nervously clear her throat. He frowned, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

There was a short silence as Bailey hesitated for a moment, "Um, Cody, in saying all of that… there's something else I have to tell you."

By now, Cody's expression had twisted into one of utter apprehension, "Sure, Bailey, anything?"

Bailey took in a deep breath, "Well… look, I know what a huge chance this is for me, and… I dunno', I guess I didn't want something like this to possibly pass _you_ by… so I entered one of the essays that you wrote while we were on the ship, and…"

Cody sensed his world slow as he waited impatiently for Bailey to finish her sentence. The tense tone that completely coated her voice was sending his heart on a fast paced roller coaster, and it only came to a screeching stop when he heard a reluctant sigh escape Bailey's lips.

"Cody, you got in, too."

The younger twin immediately felt his jaw drop at his girlfriend's excessive revelation, "What?" Cody spat in disbelief, "Me? Bailey, there's no way –"

"Look, just hear me out, Cody, ok?" Bailey sharply interjected, "Your paper was so impressive that you're only the third person from another state that the school has even considered taking on. Do you know how much of a big deal that is?"

Stuttering over a humble reply, Cody pushed his hair back out of his face, "Well, that's… wow, that's awesome, Bailey, really. But, I still don't see how this is going to work."

"Before you say no, just think about it," Bailey persuaded, "Everyone lives on campus. You can go back to Boston for the holidays and in the summer to see your mum and Zack. And did I mention _it's a scholarship_! Everything gets paid for, even your flight down here. Cody, you couldn't possibly pass up an opportunity like this."

The temptations quickly began to build up inside of Cody as he forced himself to seep through a further wave of hesitation, "It sounds incredible, Bailey."

"Don't you want to get the best marks that you can, sweetie? So you can get into an awesome college?"

"You know I do."

"Then there's no harm in asking your mum, right? Play the 'education card' to her, and you know she'll let you go for the sake of your future."

Cody sighed, "I still don't know. Mum's only just got Zack and I back, I don't know if she'd be willing to let me go again."

A shiver of excitement jolted up the younger twin's spine at the next words that sweetly emitted from Bailey's lips.

"Well, wouldn't it be worth it to spend the whole school year with me?"

The instant craves of Bailey's touch suddenly exploded like fireworks throughout Cody's mind as a mischievous smile stretched across his lips, "You know I'd love that. It's just…"

The look of ecstasy fell from Cody's features as his eyesight subtly glanced over to the door of his bedroom where Zack still was.

"Just what?" Bailey asked, snapping Cody out of his trance.

Exhaling another soft breath, Cody pointlessly shook his head, "Nothing, don't worry about it."

"You do want to come, don't you, sweetie?"

"Of course I do," Cody responded without delay, "I promise I'll ask my mum tonight, ok? I'll talk to you as soon as I can."

"Ok," Bailey conceited, "I'll talk to you later. I can't wait to see you again."

Cody's heart pumped with a thriving happiness in his chest, "Bye-bye my little Hay Bail."

Another delighted grin appeared on the younger twin's face as he listened to the sweet sounds of Bailey's adorable giggle erupt down the phone into his brain before the only thing left to be heard was the droned beeping of the receiver.

A million different thoughts were all fighting each other to take up occupancy in Cody's mind as he hung up the phone and placed it down on the table. There was certainly a lot for him to think about.

Of course, there was no doubt that another whole school year with Bailey would be absolute heaven. The fact, however, that the school was in Kansas, in her neck of the woods sounded alarm bells for him. Cody wasn't one for labeling of different groups, and he never had been, but he couldn't help but ask himself if he would be completely able to fit in with other people from Kansas. After meeting Bailey's ex-boyfriend, Moose, while on deck, the first possible answer that popped into his head was 'no way'.

But underneath all of his initial worry, there were also a couple of other important things telling him that maybe he should stay home – scholarship or not.

"Dude, you done yet?"

The booming sound of Zack's voice from their shared bedroom instantly derailed Cody's train of thought.

"Yeah, Zack – she just rang to say hi."

In the next moment, the older twin stuck his head around the door and glanced at his younger brother, "Good, come in here and play some video games with me. It's been a while since I've had the chance to kick your butt one-on-one."

Cody smirked sarcastically at his brother, "Is this your way of saying that you've missed our brotherly bonding time, Zack?"

The older twin scoffed and shook his head, "If you mean have I missed having extremely easy competition after versing Woody and Marcus all year, then I 'spose you could say yes. Now, come on, we only have a restricted number of video game playing hours before we get stuck at school again!"

"Yeah, yeah," Cody said, humouring his brother and readying himself for what was sure to be a total bombardment of Zack's overbearing skills as a video gamer.

To his own credit, however, not only would Cody's lack of hand-eye coordination prove be a leading factor in his inferiority of the situation, but at that particular moment, the weight of pressure and strain that the younger twin could sense afflicting his core would also certainly put an extreme damper on his abilities and his concentration.

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**The excitement of a new story idea always did prove to be too much for me, didn't it? What should Cody do, and will it be the right decision? Questions, comments, general reviews? They do make me smile :) Thanks guys!**

**Reneyyyyyyyyy x.  
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	2. The Bet

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**Chapter Two - The Bet.**

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**Cody continued pushing the piece of lamb about his plate with his fork, drowning it in gravy. After having spent about an hour cooking dinner for Zack, Carey and himself, five minutes setting the table, and about another five mindlessly picking at his tender lamb chop like it was poisonous, he was quickly starting to run out of ideas to put off talking to his mum about joining Bailey in Kansas for junior and senior year.

His mind was all over the place. On the one hand, Cody couldn't even begin to imagine turning down the opportunity to spend another whole year with his beautiful Southern Belle, not to mention the chance to attend one of the most highly rated academic schools in the entire country – for free. In contrast to this, however, Cody had found it hard enough just being away from his parents for the entire time he had spent aboard the S.S. Tipton. The younger twin couldn't help but wonder how he would fare being not just separated again from his parents, but from Zack, too. It was all so much to think about.

"Everything ok, sweetie?"

Cody's head suddenly flicked up as the sound of Carey's voice snapped him out of his trance. He sighed at the trivial concern on the brink of his mother's vision and quickly glanced over to his older brother who was inhaling his meal at full speed.

Turning back to look at Carey, Cody took in a deep breath, "Mum, can I talk to you about something?"

Carey frowned, "Of course, Cody, what is it?"

Biting his lip as he tried to think where to begin, Cody slimly noticed out of the corner of his eye that Zack had placed his cutlery down, too, and was waiting for his younger brother to speak.

"Well," Cody eventually said, sighing once more, "it's kind of a long, winded explanation, but basically, I've been accepted into a really top academic school on a scholarship for junior and senior year."

Carey's eyes instantly widened it delight, "Cody! That's amazing, baby, I'm so proud of you!"

"There's one thing, though," Cody cut in, "it's in Kansas."

An awkward silence immediately swept over the table where the three sat.

Carey licked her lips, "Kansas?" she repeated in confusion, as Cody waited on pins and needles for her full reaction, "How did that happen?"

"Bailey entered one of my old essays as an application," he replied, "She rang me this afternoon and told me that she'd been accepted, and me, too."

"This afternoon?" Carey echoed yet again, turning to face her eldest son, "Did you know about this?"

Zack simply shook his head, seemingly unphased, "No."

"Well, it doesn't seem that way."

"What?" Zack grunted, "I'm meant to be surprised when my brilliant brother gets accepted into a brilliant school?"

Letting this erratic trace of a compliment sink in, Cody watched with a smile as Zack grabbed his plate and stood up from the table, "Got any frosting to go with these carrots?" he asked Carey, walking towards the fridge.

Shaking her head in total bewilderment, Carey ignored Zack and turned back to her younger son, "Which school is this, exactly?"

"Kansas State Academics," Cody answered, "It's in Topeka – Kansas' capital, and it's, like, the most elite school in the whole state. Bailey said it's even one of the best in the entire country."

Carey heaved in a breath of hesitation, "Cody. A scholarship is… well, it truly is amazing, but all the way down in Kansas? I just don't know, sweetie. How can they even accommodate a student from interstate?"

"The students all live on campus, Mum," Cody countered, "And everything is paid for in this scholarship, _everything_, even my flight down there. And I can come back for holidays and for the summer before going back down there for senior year. Plus, it would do wonders for my marks when I go to enter a great college." A grin of complete wonderment crept across his face, "I'll be able to become whatever or whoever I want."

Carey quickly began stuttering over a reply. The clear excellency that the school had to offer was uncontrollably proving itself to be a very convincing argument, but much like Cody had suspected, Carey was stubbornly holding onto the fact that her baby had only just flown back to her and now was already trying to leave the nest again.

"Well… it sounds like... a fabulous opportunity, Cody. But a whole year? Two years? Your brother and I would miss you a heck of a lot, wouldn't we, Zack?"

"Nope," the older twin replied, his mouth full of a chocolate-coated carrot mess. The younger twin and their mother both rolled their eyes at Zack's sarcasm.

"Why are you asking me, anyway?" Zack then spoke again, "In fact, why are you trying to stop him? I mean, no offence or anything, Mum, but isn't it Cody's choice?"

Cody and Carey both froze for a moment or two, staring at Zack before glancing back at each other. Carey gritted her teeth, stewing in disbelief that the boy dunking carrots into chocolate frosting like corn chips into dipping sauce had managed to come up with a line of reasoning that she couldn't help but agree with. As much as a rarity as it may have been, she hated it when Zack was right.

"Cody," she sighed, "Zack has a point –"

"I do?" the older twin asked smartly.

"Zack," Carey sharply scolded before refocusing her attention to Cody, "Is this what you really want?"

Cody abruptly fell to a few silent moments of uncertainty when a thought occurred to him.

He hadn't noticed it at the time, but throughout his total delivery to Carey about how great Kansas State Academics was, a feeling of immense anticipation and excitement had impulsively been brewing in his stomach. He wasn't sure if it was because of the thought of being with Bailey again or if was simply the idea and proposal of such a great, new challenge. But wherever this latest emotion had stemmed from, Cody definitely liked it.

In a final moment of reluctance, the younger twin turned to face his older brother and felt himself beam on the inside as Zack confidently nodded his head.

"Yeah," Cody spoke to Carey, "Yeah, it is. I want to go there."

Carey sensed her heart swell. As much as she may have had a sneaking suspicion that it was partly from the slight pain of being detached from Cody again, she also knew that a larger part of it was pride in her son's brave, assertive decision.

"Ok," she finally conceited, "I'll just ring your father and ask him what he thinks and –"

"Oh, please," Zack interjected, "When do you ever listen to Dad's opinion, anyways?"

"Zack," Carey sniped in another reprimanding tone.

Holding up both hands in defence, Zack suddenly flinched as he heard the dull sound of the tin frosting container bounce against the tiled floor and unwillingly looked down to see the chocolate puddle that was increasingly forming on the ground where he stood in the kitchen.

"Ooh," he mused to himself as he peeked back up at Carey to see the extremely unimpressed expression that had materialized across her face, "I'm gonna' go get a towel."

Stifling a laugh, Cody then watched as Zack scurried across the suite and disappeared into the bathroom while Carey once again shook her head at her son's absent-mindedness.

"You want to take him with you?" she asked cynically.

Cody laughed, "I think I'd end up sending him back after a day or two."

"Well, what about all of your friends?" Carey went on, pausing in a wavering quiet, "Weren't you excited to see them all again and go back to Cheevers High?"

Cody halted in brief thought for a second or two but soon shrugged his shoulders, "I'll be alright," he assured her, "I mean, to be honest, I doubt I'll miss much. Seriously, when does anything ever happen at Cheevers?"

Carey nodded her head in agreement as she stood up and collected all three plates, avoiding Zack's chocolate pond still inhabiting the floor, "And if this is all going to better your education, I suppose I can't say no, can I?"

Cody smiled at his mum and stood up to give her a kiss on the cheek. All his talk about the high standard school had without a doubt ignited something inside of him and forced his decision to agree to go. Not only that, but for the very first time since that afternoon, Cody genuinely felt excited.

"Hey, Mum?" Zack's voice resonated from the bathroom, "Where do we keep the clean towels?"

"Next to the soap and face-washers, honey," Carey called in reply.

A brief silence enveloped the suite.

"…Hey, Mum?"

* * *

Running his hands through his wet hair, Cody pushed open the door to his and Zack's room and took a shirt out of his drawer to wear with his pyjama pants.

Zack was contently sitting up in his bed, his eyes glued to the TV screen as he rigorously pressed at the gaming controller in his hands. Looking over to his twin, Cody smiled.

"Thanks for today, Zack."

"No problem, buddy," the older twin quickly replied.

Cody furrowed his brow, "Do you even know what I'm talking about?"

"No," Zack spoke, "I'm just kinda' hoping you'll stop talking so I can concentrate on this game."

Cody scoffed and took a seat at the end of Zack's bed, "This is important, man. It's because of you that Mum and Dad are actually letting me go to this school. I mean, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to at first –"

"Really?" Zack interrupted with genuine curiosity, "How come?"

Cody shrugged, "I dunno' really. Just being so far away from home, I guess. And Mum and you."

Zack paused his game as a sarcastic smirk instantly beamed across his face, "Aw, poor little Cody-Wody was going to miss his big brother, was he?"

"Shut up," Cody snapped jokingly, whacking Zack's hand away as he went to pinch his cheek. "Now I'm actually really eager to just get there already," he resumed.

"You should be," Zack agreed, "It'll be fun. I mean, not as fun as I'm going to have here, but you'll still have a good time."

Cody suddenly froze and raised an eyebrow at his brother.

Zack tilted his head in confusion, "What?"

Cody spat out a laugh, "Do you seriously think you're going to have a better time than I am this year?"

"Yeah," Zack answered simply, "I'm going to be hanging out with all our friends just like old times and catching up on any priceless pranks I've missed. The only thing you'll have to entertain you is Bailey."

A sly grin crept across the younger twin's face, "Yeah. Bailey. My girlfriend. By ourselves. In our own rooms. With no parents around."

Zack's face immediately cringed in disgust, "Ok, man, one; I _really_ didn't need that image in my head! And two; if you think you're so right, why don't you put your money where your mouth is?"

Cody's eyes brightened in delight, "A bet?"

"Yeah," Zack confirmed, "I'll bet I can have more fun this junior year staying here in good ol' Boston than you can out in that nineteenth century state."

"Deal," Cody instantly agreed, projecting his hand for Zack to shake, "Conditions?"

Zack chewed on his bottom lip in deep thought as he dropped his hand from Cody's grip, "I got it. You're coming back home over the summer, right?"

Cody nodded his verification causing Zack's smile to increase, "Well, if I win, you have to be my towel boy for the whole of next summer. If you win, I'll be your bus boy."

"Like on the ship?"

"Exactly. You do all my laundry and I'll serve any pathetic drink or food order you desire."

Cody's forehead creased as his level of approval gradually intensified with the thought of the stipulations.

"Sounds good to me," he consented, "I can't wait to be sitting poolside all summer with you bringing me a whole variety of fruit juicy goodness."

"Ha, keep dreaming, bro," Zack taunted, "'cause that's never going to happen. Just like you'll never beat me at this video game."

"'Just like you'll never beat me at this video game'," Cody echoed in a mocking tone of his brother.

Just as Zack was about to leap towards his brother and tackle him right off the bed, a soft knock was heard at their door as Carey poked her head around the corner, rubbing her weary eyes, "Boys, I'm going to bed so can you keep it down a bit, please?"

"Sure thing, Mum," Cody answered.

"Be in bed before midnight."

"Yes, Mum," Zack droned, already sick of hearing the same thing night in and night out since they had arrived home.

"Ok, guys, goodnight," she said with a yawn, "I love you."

"Love you, too," they both replied in unison.

Carey then blew the boys a kiss, and in the next moment, disappeared back beyond the door and closed it behind her, leaving Zack and Cody on their own again.

Forcing a yawn now, too, Cody clambered off of Zack's bed and dragged his feet towards his own on the other side of the room.

"I'm pretty tired, too, Zack. I think I'll hit the hay."

"Ok, buddy," Zack said, reaching over to turn his bedside lamp on as Cody switched off the main light, "I'll turn the volume on this right down."

"Ok," the younger twin said, climbing under his bed covers. A few seconds of silence ticked by as Cody made himself comfortable and warm where he laid before he hesitated for a short instant then licked his lips and opened his mouth to speak again, "Just under a week left of you and me living out the old days in Boston."

"Yeah. And then you'll leave and automatically start losing this bet."

"Shut _up_," Cody repeated with a lighthearted groan as he listened to his brother's devious chuckles in the background.

"Goodnight, bro," Zack then spoke into the darkness.

Cody murmured another soft groan as he sensed his eyelids suddenly becoming heavy and too difficult for him to willingly keep open, "Goodnight, Zack."

* * *

Carey watched with a proud smile as Cody lugged the last of his bags out of the front door of the Tipton, past Norman, and over to where the taxi sat parked at the curb.

"Now, are you sure you have everything, baby?"

"Yes, Mum," Cody replied through gritted teeth, answering that question for about the twentieth time.

"I'm sorry," she spoke, "I just don't want you to forget anything and then need to come back for it, or want to come back anyway just to hear Mummy's voice."

Cody rolled his eyes as Zack shook his head with a laugh at the worried tone in Carey's voice.

It was ten o'clock on Friday morning, and Cody was getting ready to leave for the airport to catch his eleven o'clock flight to Topeka, Kansas to have the weekend in preparation for the beginning of the school year at his brand new school.

It had been a good last week in Boston for him, but now he was admittedly feeling a little nervous. The daunting thought of leaving Boston behind for a whole year again was a tad scarier than what it had been prior to the Semester at Sea. Solely because, of course, Cody hadn't been alone back then – Zack had gone with him, and they faced all the new challenges of the S.S. Tipton side-by-side. But now Cody was going off by himself, to a whole new place where he had never been before, with no one to comfortably communicate with except for Bailey. The whole situation, in all honesty, was pretty nerve-racking.

"Ok," Cody said with a confident sigh as he shut the boot of the cab, "That's the last of it."

"Oh, Cody," Carey cooed, tugging her youngest son into an extremely tight hug, "Are you sure you don't want me and Zack to come with you to the airport?"

"No," Cody murmured against his mother's close embrace, "I want to do this whole thing by myself."

"Ok," she agreed in minor uncertainty, finally letting him go.

Fixing up his hair, Cody smiled softly at his mum before turning to face Zack. His beaming smile grew for a moment, but then suddenly shrunk as the realisation began to set in that he was about to leave his big brother for practically the first real time.

Zack locked eyes with his brother and sensed this emotion, trying his best to propel it from attacking him, too.

Shrugging his shoulders, Zack then pouted a huge grin and opened his arms up, "Come on, man. This whole bet thing hanging over us doesn't write off the fact that I'm still not going to see you again till Christmas."

Cody mimicked his brother's expression and immediately dove into his grasp and embraced him tightly.

"You'll barely even miss me," he forced through a slightly raspy tone.

Breathing hard against his baby brother's shoulder, Zack reluctantly let him go before either one of them fell under the grip of mild separation anxiety. The thought of this caused Zack to laugh.

"Well, yeah, don't worry about that," the older twin teased, "And I'll have a _huge_ pile of dirty laundry here waiting for you when you come back next summer."

"Ha ha," Cody quipped sarcastically, "We'll see about that."

"Come on, honey," Carey beckoned, "You really need to get going."

"Ok," Cody complied, draping his smaller backpack over his shoulder. He paused once more and stared hard at Zack, "Cya' later, bro."

Zack nodded his head, "Cya', Codester."

The twins then pounded knuckles before Cody quickly gave Carey one final kiss and then jumped into the back of the cab.

As the yellow vehicle slowly pulled away from the curb and tooted its horn while it crept up to the speed limit of the road, Cody gazed out of the back window and bravely waved to his mum and brother.

It may have been a particularly intimidating thought at that moment, but Cody was certain that once his plane landed in Kansas and he had Bailey warmly in his arms once again, all his initial fear and anxiousness would melt away like a dream. Either way, he couldn't wait to find out.

* * *

**Hey guys :D Here's the new chapter of my new story! I've pretty much decided that I'm going to take turns updating this story and then 'Swash' so they both keep moving along quite swimmingly, plus I'm sure that'll suit all you guys just fine :)**

**So, what did we think here? Has Cody made the right decision? Are he and Zack both going to have an easy time being away from each other? And who's going to win the bet? So many questions...**

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated :) Thanks guys, till next time!**

**Reneyyyyyyyy x.  
**


	3. Settling In

-o0o0o-

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**Chapter Three - Settling In.**

* * *

Cody's heart pounded in his chest with extreme anticipation. His right foot was tapping to some irrelevant tune that his subconscious had probably remembered from his four hour flight from Boston. He was gripping onto the handle of his backpack so hard that his knuckles were slowly beginning to turn white. A single bead of nervous sweat rolled down the side of his face as his mind kept telling him over and over again to 'just calm down, don't be so anxious'. But the younger twin couldn't help his expectations. All of a sudden, Cody felt the taxi come to a sluggish halt, and he instantly snapped his head up to gaze out the window. Then he saw her.

Bailey.

An elated grin stretched its way across Cody's whole exterior as his eyes fell upon the image of his long-haired, blonde, blue-eyed Southern Belle. She was wearing a pair of cream-coloured tights with a baby-pink dress and a similar coloured pair of ballet flats to match. Her hair was half-up, half-down and her fringe was right out of her face revealing her sparkling, sapphire orbs. If it were possible, she was even more beautiful than she had been no more than a week ago.

"Keep the change," Cody generously offered as he handed the cab driver a twenty dollar note before grabbing his bag and diving out of the backseat door.

Bailey's expression beamed the second she spotted her boyfriend running towards her, "Cody!"

In the next instant, Cody had dropped his bag and firmly collected Bailey in his arms, spinning her around in his grip before planting her back on the ground and gazing deeply into her eyes.

"Bailey," he murmured.

No longer able to control his urges, the younger twin gently cupped the farm girl's face in his hands and leaned in, bringing her closer to him, and then concealed their lips in a sweet, tender kiss.

Cody felt his body tingle as his senses went stir crazy at the mere touch and smell of his gorgeous girlfriend, while Bailey herself simply melted into their close embrace and kept her eyes shut tightly until they finally craved the desire to take a breath and reluctantly broke apart.

"Wow," Bailey said sweetly, "we've only been apart for a week, Cody."

"I know," the younger twin replied sheepishly, taking her hands and squeezing securely, "but I've just missed you so much."

"Me too," Bailey complied, holding her affectionate stare for a moment before spinning around and throwing her arms up at the immensely large building that stood behind them, "So, what do you think?"

Flicking his hair out of his face, Cody's jaw dropped at the sight of his new school.

He could hardly believe that it hadn't caught his attention sooner - although he had been rather preoccupied with Bailey – but Kansas State Academics was huge. The main building was greeted with a long, wide driveway that extended all the way down to the front steps. It then parted to the left and right and reached the entrances to other separate structures on either side. The gardens around the area were simply breath-taking and there were many tall trees that Cody could tell would explode in a stunning, vibrant mesh of oranges and reds within the coming autumn months. The shining sun and bright blue sky made the younger twin's heart swell with excitement of what was sure to be an absolutely amazing year.

"This is the school?" he then asked Bailey, still in utter disbelief.

The farm girl nodded in head, "It sure is. I've only been here for one night, and I already have so much I want to show you."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Cody asked, re-extending his hand.

Laughing a little, Bailey shook her head but grabbed her boyfriend's hand anyway, "Uh, don't you think we should get your bags out of the cab first, sweetie?"

Cody froze in a short moment of embarrassment and turned around, looking down at his backpack that was still lying on the ground and then at the cab that was patiently waiting by the side of the road.

"Oh yeah," he hummed quietly as he picked up his bag and tossed it over his shoulder, "I should stop getting so ahead of myself, shouldn't I?"

"There's nothing wrong with it," Bailey said with a giggle, "You're just excited, is all. So, how was your flight?"

Cody shrugged as he lifted open the boot of the taxi, "Nothing to complain about, really. It was so much better than the Cheap Charlie's airline that Mum makes us fly all the time."

Bailey laughed again as she and Cody each grabbed one of his suitcases, "And how was your mum when you left? Did she let you go without much of a fight?"

Chuckling to himself, too, Cody quickly waved to the cab driver as he and Bailey continued on their way up the driveway of the school, "She was surprisingly pretty composed, actually," he informed his girlfriend proudly, "I mean, I got the usual lectures about how to behave, what I needed to bring, how much I'll be missed, blah, blah, blah. But apart from all that typical stuff, she didn't hold up any protest. As long as I ring her once I'm settled, which reminds me, I gotta' remember to do that later."

"Well, the boys' wing in this way," Bailey said, gesturing the left-hand path outside the main building, "Those other two buildings up the other way are the girls' wing and the science block which has all the laboratories, or whatever. The main building has all the other regular classrooms, the lecture hall and the cafeteria. It's pretty easy to find your way around. Easier than the ship, anyway."

"Sounds awesome," Cody stated, "and organised."

"I figured you'd enjoy it that way," Bailey teased, earning herself a playful shove and a mocking expression from her boyfriend.

As the conversation continued to flow as it always had, in a matter of moments, Cody and Bailey found themselves standing out the front of the younger twin's new cabin.

He had picked up his room key from the lobby down on the bottom floor of the wing and was warned about not losing it for the sake of not getting a new one, before he was then directed to the location of what was going to be his home for the next whole year.

"Are you sure you're allowed to be up here?" Cody asked Bailey for about the fiftieth time.

"Yeah, seriously, Cody, it's fine. Girls and boys just aren't allowed to mix in each other's cabins after ten."

"Well, are you sure you don't mind helping me unpack?" he prolonged as he unlocked and opened the door.

"Sweetie, stop asking me if I'm sure of stuff," Bailey argued, "I just want to spend time with you. I don't care how, I just do."

Cody smiled warmly at Bailey for a split second and then turned his awareness to the room that had opened before him.

The cabin was actually quite similar to the ones that he was used to back on the ship. It was the standard ensuite, two-wardrobe, two-bedroom… wait, Cody suddenly thought.

"Two beds? Don't tell me I gotta' do the whole roommate thing again?" the younger twin whined to Bailey.

The farm girl only shook her head with a shrug of her shoulders, "Well, what did you expect? Just think of it this way - hopefully your new roommate doesn't fart any genre of music."

Cody tried to hide his content smile at the pleasant sound of Bailey's laugh as he placed his suitcase on one of the two beds and unzipped it, readying himself for the long mission ahead.

"Ha ha," he quipped sarcastically, "I thought you came up here to help me, not 'try' to make me feel better?"

"Aw, is someone still a little jet-lagged and irritable?" Bailey went on jokingly as she opened up the cupboard opposite Cody's bed and began hanging up a couple of his shirts.

"Not really irritable, just tired," Cody retorted. He stared down at the neatly folded clothes and other items on the bed in front of him for a minute or two before throwing his arms up and groaning in annoyance, "I am _so_ not in the mood to do this right now. How about we just go for a walk, or something, and get back to it later when I'm feeling less lazy?"

Rolling her eyes at the uncharacteristic indolence steaming from her boyfriend, a soft smile impulsively glided across Bailey's lips, "Now you're starting to act like another lazy teenage boy who reminds me a little of you."

Freezing for a second or two, Cody then slowly spun around to re-face Bailey, smiling softly at the thought of his brother all the way back in Boston. The farm girl's eyes narrowed at the faded expression that lay across Cody's face.

"Was Zack ok when you left?"

Stuttering over a speedy reply, Cody flicked another few strands of his lengthy hair out of his face, "Well… yeah, why do you ask?"

"Come on, sweetie, I wasn't born yesterday," Bailey argued, picking up another one of Cody's shirts, "I know this year is going to be the longest you two have ever been apart. I can't imagine how much you're going to miss him."

"We'll be fine," the younger twin assured her, shooting her a more convincing smile, "It'll be nice to only have to worry about doing _my_ homework this year."

Bailey's appearance softened as the joking smile on her boyfriend's face allowed a comforting tone to override her initial concern. She grinned back at him and then hastily began sorting out some of his clothes again. Cody, on the other hand, soon felt some of his assurance drop as he turned to face the window of his room.

A couple of long, white clouds slowly made their final passing over the sun and allowed the strong, warm rays to filter into Cody's room. They shined on his face and heated his core as he gazed down to the ground below the wing and watched all the different students excitedly explore their new surroundings while making a bunch of new acquaintances. The whole situation looked so invitingly friendly.

"Ya' know, it's such a nice day outside," the younger twin said encouragingly, "That idea of going on a walk sounds really tempting right now, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Bailey agreed with a hint of sarcasm, "or we could just stay here and differentiate between your boxers and briefs."

Cody quickly twirled around in confusion and instantly turned a bright shade of red as he looked on in embarrassment to see Bailey holding up a pair of each article of underwear with a huge smirk on her face. She exploded into an array of giggles as Cody leapt across the room and grabbed each of his personal belongings from her grasp, struggling not to burst into laughter himself.

"Ok," he said, finally permitting a slight sneer to creep across his lips. He raised a cynical eyebrow, "But only if we can sort through yours next."

"Cody!" Bailey sniped with a gasp as she softly smacked her boyfriend's arm. She went to hit him again as Cody's smile only kept increasing, but he managed to grab her arm mid-swing and force it behind her back.

"You're going to have to try harder than that," he said sweetly, looking down at her.

Their eyes met and instantly connected, like they were in a deep trance, as Bailey licked her lips and moved closer to Cody, leaning up and locking herself to him in a tender kiss. Cody felt his senses fly again as he dropped Bailey's arm and wrapped both of his around her, deepening the kiss ever so slightly. They were both so lost in each other's embrace that they failed to notice the sound of the door opening and somebody clearing their throat.

"Uh, excuse me?"

The two virtuous teens suddenly jumped apart in surprise and shot their vision towards the front door of Cody's room to see a boy about their age standing before them.

The boy was a similar height to Cody and had brown hair that almost had the length to shield away his piercing, hazel-coloured eyes. He wore a pair of denim-blue jeans and a loose fitting red t-shirt that clung lazily to his shoulders.

"Sorry to interrupt ya'll," he said with a strong southern accent, "My name's Lewis. Lewis Turner. You must be Cody Martin?"

Cody forced a friendly smile in an attempt to hide the awkwardness of the situation, "Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you Lewis," he replied, shaking hands with who he only assumed was his new roommate, "This is my girlfriend, Bailey Pickett."

"Well, looky 'ere," Lewis said, gazing Bailey up and down, "The fellers downstairs told me about my roommate from the city, but they didn't say nothing 'bout the pretty girl that came with him."

The pink colour in Bailey's cheeks combusted to a much higher extent as Cody simply coerced another tight smile at the forward compliment from his roommate, placing an arm around his girlfriend.

"So," Lewis went on, "Where is it that you're from?"

"Boston," Cody answered, "my flight landed this morning. Bailey's just been helping me attempt to unpack my stuff."

"Aw, there's plenty of time for that, we've still got the rest of the weekend before school starts," the brunette boy spoke offhandedly, "What a heck of a load of work it's gonna' be. What's your elective class?"

"It's biology mainly, but I'm hoping it'll included a bit of physics and chemistry as well," the younger twin replied with an eager expression, "I'm going to be a doctor."

"Ooh, you'll probably have Mr. Warner as a teacher, then."

Cody and Bailey both frowned, "Who's Mr. Warner?" Bailey asked.

"Only the best teacher this 'ere school has to offer," Lewis began, "He's been teaching for years – my older brother had him when he was our age. Just about the greatest scientist you're ever gonna' meet, I reckon. Not that it's my thing. I'm taking legal studies."

"Really?" Bailey inquired with wide-eyes, "I'm taking legal studies, too. I'm gonna' make a great lawyer – I did debating in elementary and middle school, plus, I'm an awesome arguer."

"Well, then, I guess we're two peas in a pod," Lewis said with another contented grin.

Cody rolled his eyes, "Greeeat," he droned quietly to himself.

"So, what about you, Lewis," Bailey prolonged with genuine interest, "Where are you from?"

"Well, from right here in Topeka, of course," he answered proudly, "My family's been attending this school since I was knee-high to a grasshopper."

"With great results, I presume?" the farm girl admired pleasantly.

Inwardly groaning to himself, Cody licked his lips and tugged on the sleeve of Bailey's shirt, "Uh, Bails, that walk around the grounds we were going to go on?"

Staring at her boyfriend blankly for a moment, Bailey suddenly remembered what she and Cody were in the midst of planning – sort of – before Lewis arrived, "Oh yeah, sure, sweetie," she agreed enthusiastically, taking Cody's hand, "We'll see you later, Lewis."

"Yeah," Cody echoed, "We can introduce ourselves more this evening. Later, roomie."

Lewis simply nodded his head with a small grin before hoisting his suitcase up off the ground and dumping it on his new bed, "Ya'll have fun now."

Bailey bit her lip as Cody stopped to open the door and gazed up at him longingly, "Don't worry," she said softly so it was only her boyfriend who could hear her, "this entire year is going to be a fun one to remember, right, sweetie?"

Cody felt his heart rate slowly creep back up to an excited pace as he lead Bailey out of the room and gently closed the door behind him, "You bet it will be."

* * *

**Hey everybody, here's my new chapter :) It probably would have been sooner, but school holidays only cause more and more distractions... sorry :) haha.**

**Can I say how much I hate that Cody and Bailey have now broken up on the show!.. although I only assume - as sneaky as the writers will try to be - they'll get back together in the verrrry lasy Suite Life episode ever and all will be happy and right in the world again. It still annoys me.**

**Anyways, what did we think about this one? Any ideas what wonderful things the fabulous new school year will bring for Cody? Reviews are much appreciated and increases your guys' total awesomeness :) Till next time!**

**Reneyyyyyyyyy x.  
**


	4. Settling Back

-o0o0o-

* * *

**Chapter Four - Settling Back.**

**

* * *

**

"Zack!" Carey yelled for about the seventh time, swinging open the door to her son's room. As she rolled her eyes at the sight of Zack curled up tightly under his sheets still fast asleep, Carey walked over and ripped back the blankets, smacking the older twin lightly on the side of his head to wake him.

"Almost seventeen years old and I still have to do everything for you?" Carey scolded as Zack's eyes slowly fluttered open, blinded by the sunlight streaming in through his window.

Looking up at Carey as she towered over him, Zack simply grunted in reply before rolling over and pulling the blankets back up to his chin.

"C'mon, Zack, it's the first day of school and you're going to be late."

"Don't blame me," Zack murmured croakily, "Cody was the one who forgot to wake –"

Trailing off at the realisation of his error, Zack slowly sat up and looked across the room to his brother's empty bed.

"…Oh yeah."

Shaking her head, Carey kissed Zack's forehead as he eventually climbed out of bed, rubbing his weary eyes, "Yeah, honey, I think if your looking to use an alarm clock this year, it may have to be the one on your phone, not your brother."

Groaning again out of pure tiredness, Zack merely nodded his head as he began to make his way into the next room to find some breakfast. Carey watched as he did so and glanced over at Cody's perfectly made bed before looking back to Zack, "Are you ok, sweetie?"

Glimpsing back over his shoulder with a frown, Zack caught his mother's fleeting look at Cody's side of the room and then quickly shook off the thought, "Mum, I'm fine. So fine that I even forgot he wasn't here," the older twin quipped jokingly.

"Ok, ok," Carey beseeched him, "I won't ask again. Now, come on, I've made a stack of chocolate chip pancakes for you and their just waiting to be eaten."

An eager smile suddenly beamed its way across Zack's face as he turned on his heels and raced out into the kitchen, instantly getting stuck into his sweet smelling breakfast. The syrupy flavours bounced across the older twin's taste buds as he wasted no time cramming a good amount of sugary pancake chunks into his mouth.

"Ya' know, Mum, I've really missed this," he spoke through a full gob.

"Missed what?" Carey asked with a smile, "My cooking?"

"Whoa, let's not get carried away," Zack countered with a sly grin, "I'm only talking about your pancakes. Anything else you cook could be fatal."

Carey barked out a scoffing laugh at the cheek from her eldest son, "Well, I'll remember that next time you complain about being hungry."

It was only a matter of brief moments before Zack had managed to scoff down every last one of the six choc-chip pancakes that had been sitting on his plate, and now he was standing in front of his bedroom mirror putting the final touches on his blonde, sweeping hairstyle, right as Carey appeared beside him, standing in the doorway.

"Look at my little man," she cooed proudly, causing Zack to roll his eyes.

"Do we have to do this, Mum? Really?" he asked sarcastically, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

"I can't believe you're starting your junior year," she went on, "This year is going to fly by so fast and then you'll be a senior and you'll have Homecoming and the Prom and then graduation and college, then you'll get engaged and married and start a family and –"

"Mum!" Zack cut in, throwing his hands up in the air, "It's the first day of eleventh grade, I'm walking down the aisle yet!"

"I know, I know," Carey said, still in a slight fluster. Staring at her son where he stood before her – handsome, assertive, even _smart_, and ready for his first day of junior year, she couldn't help but smile at him with a raw emotion of utter and genuine fulfillment.

"I'm just so proud of you."

Zack paused for a moment, forcing himself to take in the sincere tone of Carey's voice. It had been a while now since he had heard those words directed at anyone else besides Cody, and as much as they may have been unfamiliar to him, they felt extremely indescribable to hear now.

"Thanks, Mum," he spoke happily, "Alright, so is the bus the same time as always?"

"Well, yeah," Carey droned mysteriously, "But you're not getting the bus this morning."

Zack's brow creased in immediate confusion, "I'm not? So how –"

"Just follow me," Carey sang excitedly as she leapt across the lounge room and out the front door, almost as if she were a giggling schoolgirl starting junior year herself.

Left standing in nothing but total bewilderment, Zack simply shook his head and laughed slightly at his mum's strange behaviour, before quickly slipping into his shoes and sauntering out the door, gently closing it behind him.

* * *

Stepping out of the elevator and looking around the lobby before him, it only just began to hit Zack that he was really about to return to Cheevers High, along with the rest of his old life that he had left behind the second that he boarded the S.S. Tipton. It wasn't exactly a scary thought – a little never racking, maybe, considering that he hadn't really seen or spoken to any of his old friends or anyone else in Boston for over a year. That and he didn't have Cody to readjust alongside him.

As he scanned the wide vicinity trying to locate his mum amongst the crowd, a long smile suddenly formed on Zack's face as he spotted London making her way out of Mr. Moesby's old office and across the lobby floor.

"Hey, London," he called to his long-time friend.

The second that the heiress' eyes fell upon Zack standing atop the stairs by the elevator, she forced a returning grin along with an annoyed expression that had already been flickering fiercely in her eyes, "This new hotel manager is useless!" she shrieked without even returning Zack's greeting, "I wish Moesby didn't have to go back on the ship. Mr. What's-His-Face didn't even know that he had to tell my limo driver to pick me up and take me to school today! Now I have to call my chauffeur _myself_ and ask him to come and get me!"

"Ouch," Zack offered lamely with a cynical shake of his head.

"I know!" London agreed, failing to see the older twin's sarcasm, "Some people these days.."

"Uh-ha… anyway, London, are you still going to that snooty private school instead of coming back to Cheevers?"

"Oh, please, no matter how snooty any other school is, I'd still rather go there than that dump that you have to go to."

Zack shrugged his shoulders, trying to understand why he may have expected anything less of a response from the heiress.

"This is what I get for being put back two years instead of graduating with Maddie," London continued to ramble on, quickly losing Zack's attention, "Maybe _I_ would be the one shacked up with some gorgeous college boyfriend instead of _her_."

The precise second that this sentence left London's mouth, Zack sensed something snap inside of him as he shot his head and gazed at London with accusing eyes, "What did you just say?"

Tilting her head slightly at the heated nature of Zack's tone, London soon realised what she had said and tentatively bit her lip, "Um, yeah… Maddie has a boyfriend at her college."

A good few seconds slowly drifted by as Zack attempted to collect all the various thoughts that scattered about his mind. Maddie had a _boyfriend_? As much as London seemed certain about the casual remark that she had carelessly shared with the older twin, Zack still found the whole idea so completely unlikely to possibly fathom.

He concisely remembered Maddie visiting he, Cody, London and Bailey on the ship. He also had some distinct memories of her kissing him – a small peck, but a kiss all the same. It was soon after this that she departed the ship and returned to Boston, leaving Zack's heart and dreams soaring on an emotional high. And now, she had a _boyfriend_?

"Zack, sweetie, come on," Carey abruptly called from the front door of the Tipton, derailing Zack's train of thought, "You're going to be late if you don't –"

"You didn't tell me Maddie had a boyfriend," Zack sharply interjected in a condemning tone at his mother.

Carey's jaw dropped to some extent at the furious sound of what was just minutes ago a happy and excited tone to her son's voice, as she then looked at London with a scolding expression for opening her big mouth.

"Zack," she started comfortingly as she made her way down the ramp towards her son, "I'm sorry. I just kind of figured you might have been over Maddie. I didn't realise it would be such a big deal to you, sweetie."

"She kissed me," the older twin instantly spat, "When we were in Lichtenstamp and she was but one jousting round away from being married to that pint-sized prince, she kissed me so I could save her."

"Yeah, and it worked, didn't it?" London asked bluntly.

"London!" Carey admonished the heiress. She turned back to Zack and opened her mouth to speak again, until the older twin beat her to the post.

"Look, Mum, it's ok, ok?" he assured her, "I know how Maddie feels, and I know she wasn't _using me_," he emphasised, gawking at London, "As soon as she gets back to visit over the holidays, she'll realise her true feelings and everything will go right back to how it should be."

Everything that Zack was saying was spelling danger for Carey, a danger that would doubtless attack his feelings and break his heart, _again_, when Maddie was to return over the holiday season. But she reluctantly decided to leave the subject at that for now, partly because Zack still wasn't any closer to getting to school on time.

"Well, honey, how about we get you to school now, then?"

Zack sighed in immense unwillingness, "Fine, let's get this over with. Cya' London," he called back with a wave to the heiress as Carey continued to lead him past Norman the Doorman.

"I think you may change your tune when you see this," Carey said, her levels of enthusiasm creeping right back up to maximum height, "Ta-dah!"

Following Carey's wide spread gesture towards the side of the road, Zack's eyes widened to the size of saucers at the little, shiny, white Suzuki Swift that sat invitingly in the gutter, waiting to be, assumingly, driven by him.

"…Mum?"

"Now, I did want to get you something a little better as your first car, but this was all your Dad and I could afford."

A large grin of confirmation rapidly crept itself across Zack's lips, "So this is mine? Mine, my very own car?"

Caret nodded contentedly, pulling a set of keys out of her back pocket and handing them to her eldest son, "And Cody's. But don't tell him, I want it to be a surprise for when he comes back at Christmas. I just hope you're able to share this a little better than what you did that old bike you had a few years back."

Taking the keys in his hands, Zack glanced back at the car and emitted an impressive whistle, "Sa-weet!"

During Spring break while Zack and Cody had spent a week off the ship with Carey in Boston, she had taken them to the DMV to go for their driving test, and they both passed. As soon as Kurt heard the news he insisted that he and Carey go halves in buying the boys a car so it would be ready and waiting for them by the time they returned home at the end of the summer. Unfortunately for Cody, the delivery date from the dealership where Kurt had made the purchase was a little late, so for now it was only Zack who got the chance to bask in the glory of their first car.

"Ok," Carey spoke, trying to calm Zack's jittery nerves of anticipation as he jumped into the driver's seat, "I know it doesn't look like the hottest car on the block, but it works completely fine and is the perfect size for you and your brother. So try to look after it."

"Please, Mum, I could drive it with my eyes closed."

"Zack!"

"I'm not going to!" Zack snapped back with a laugh at Carey's worried nature. He then turned on the ignition, listening to the rumble of the engine as he released the hand brake, put it in drive and glanced back up at Carey, "Thanks, Mum."

"No problem, baby. Have a good day at school." Carey then leaned in through the window and kissed Zack on the cheek, "I love you."

"Love you, too," Zack replied, flicking on his left blinker and taking his foot off the brake as he took off from the curb.

"Stick to the speed limit!" Carey yelled at the last minute, smirking to herself as Zack's hand waved to her from out of the driver's window.

It may have taken him a while… a long while, but Carey always knew that Zack was going to make her proud. He finished his sophomore year with what turned out to be ease in the end, as he actually forced himself to get average grades, which were good enough to follow him into the commencement of his junior year. And what with the further influence of his loyal Boston friends, Carey was certain, and excited in the fact, that Zack's greatest moments of the new school year were still yet to come.

* * *

As soon as he had adjusted himself and his car correctly in the parking space, Zack shifted from reverse to park and turned off the ignition. Instead of eagerly jumping out of his seat, however, Zack found himself frozen for a moment, simply staring at the building behind him in his rear vision mirror.

Cheevers High. In the year or so that Zack had been away from Boston, it was pretty uncanny how much his school hadn't changed that much at all. The building was the same, the grounds and flora were all the same, he even had already recognised some familiar faces of other kids either from his freshman year or the grade above, not to mention some of his old teachers, too.

While many may have taken comfort in the fact that everything at the high school seemed to be business as usual, there was something about it that didn't exactly comfort Zack, but instead, spelt some sort of uneasiness in him.

The older twin couldn't quite see how after being away for so long in such a far different schooling situation, he was ever going to fall back into the same ol', same ol'. But as he looked down at his watch and discovered that the bell to officially begin the day was due to ring in about five minutes, Zack figured that it was now or never.

Grabbing his bag, and making sure to lock the door after stepping out of his car, Zack spun around and looked up at the main building of his school, before he slowly began to walk towards it, taking in a deep breath.

Lending a keen ear to the various chit-chat exploding around him, Zack smirked at the mixture of everything from eager toned freshmen to stressed seniors, dreading the difficult year ahead of them. It was a challenging task for the older twin to effectively push his way through the mass of students, while at the same time, try to spot the faces of any of his old friends.

"And this all before I've even stepped foot in the halls?" Zack spoke to himself, finally making it to the front steps of the building.

"Talking to yourself now, pal?"

Zack's head snapped up as his eyes hastily began to scan the immediate area in search of the voice that had replied to his musing, when suddenly, his vision came into contact with the image of his large built, red-head, long time best buddy, Bob.

"I knew if you stayed on that boat for too long you'd go insane."

"Bob!" Zack exclaimed, clapping his friend on the back in a man-hug where he stood by the door, "How goes it, buddy?"

"I'm great, but I've been waiting here for you for a while," Bob explained, "You weren't on the bus this morning, what's going on?"

"Ha," Zack began with a grin, "Who needs a school bus when I have my own wheels?"

Bob's eyes widened in delight as he started to lead Zack through the large double-doors, "You have your own car? That's awesome, man!"

"I know," Zack replied smugly before pausing to take in the doughy, white walls and tiled floor that lined every inch of the school's interior, "Ugh. It's even exactly the same on the inside."

"Hey, not everything stays the same," Bob responded with encouragement, "You may be pleasantly surprised."

Zack cocked a defying eyebrow, "Oh, yeah? How so?"

Just as Bob opened his mouth to answer Zack's disputing enquiry, the two were abruptly interrupted by an excited squeal that echoed from behind them, as out of nowhere, Barbara – Cody's ex and Bob's current girlfriend – came racing towards them.

"Hi Zack!" she said happily before turning to face Bob, "Hey, baby."

In the next instant, Zack found his expression creasing into one of awkward nausea as Bob and Barbara attacked each other's faces with what was a deep, fiery, almost full blown make-out session.

Biting his bottom lip with an uneasy shake of his head, Zack simply tried to find a distraction for his eyesight as the young couple continued to openly share their feelings for one another with their long, breathless kiss.

"And yet you threatened to snap Cody's arm like a twig if he ever tried to go too far?" he finally spoke, immediately causing the two to break apart and stare at the older twin sheepishly.

"Sorry, Zack," Barbara offered lamely, wrapping an arm around Bob's torso, "How are you, and Cody?"

"Yeah," Bob chimed in, "He went to that smart school in Kansas with his girlfriend, or something, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did," Zack answered, "I haven't spoken to him since he left, but Mum tells me he's having an awesome time."

The older twin suddenly paused for a second or two, allowing this thought to cross his mind in contentment, before he licked his lips and looked back to Bob, "But anyway, Bob, we have so much to catch up on, buddy! What's the latest goss from the ol' schoolyard?"

Bob chuckled in smug delight and, again, opened his mouth to speak, "Well –"

"Ahem?"

All three teenagers suddenly came to a pausing halt as once more, Bob found himself being interrupted. And much like no more than two minutes ago, the tone of the voice that had eagerly welcomed themselves to the conversation was one of a high pitched, excited female manner.

Looking up in the direction of the voice, Zack immediately sensed his eyes bulge right out of his head at the sight of the long pair of thin legs walking straight towards him.

Along with the necessary set of legs, the girl also had lengthy, brown hair that stretched right down to her waist. She had a sharp pair of gleaming, blue eyes and a set of invitingly glossy, red lips. She was wearing a low-cut, baby purple coloured top and a denim mini-skirt, all of which was accompanied by the click-clack of a darker purple coloured pair of high-heels as she strutted up the school corridor.

As Zack picked up his jaw from off the ground and tried to push his eyes back into his skull, he couldn't stop thinking about how damn hot this girl was. Not only that, but she was elegant, she was striking, she was…

"…Max?" the older twin yelped in disbelief after a wave of hesitation.

Finally making her close approach, Maxine – better known by her friends simply as 'Max' – shot Zack a pearly white smile, flicking her hair behind her head.

"Please, Bob, this is a question Zack should be asking me," Max began, "I am the main person in the know when it comes to Cheevers gossip."

"Yeah," Barbara snorted, "Only because about half of the time the gossip revolves around you."

Max rolled her eyes at the sniping comment from the dark haired girl, "I'm sorry, Barbara, I didn't hear that, I was too busy welcoming back my favourite twin!" she exclaimed in enthusiasm, turning to Zack with her arms wide open, "Did you miss me?"

Still completely in a state of shock at the unbelievable transformation that stood before him, Zack tried with all his might to force his legs into work again as he clumsily fell into Max's embrace while still attempting to stutter his way through a proper sentence.

"Uh… ye-yes! Of course I did!" he eventually answered, looking Max up and down once more once they had broken apart, "You look… wow."

Max giggled and playfully slapped his arm, "Not very original, but thanks, babe!"

Grunting in further annoyance, Barbara grabbed Bob's arm with a not-so-subtle roll of her eyes, "We're outta' here. Cya' later, Zack."

Shooting his friend an apologetic look, Bob shrugged his shoulders at Zack and mouthed a quick 'Cya'' and then allowed the older twin to refocus – as much as he could – his attention back on Max.

"Ignore her," Max said carelessly, "She's a snob, anyway."

With another failed attempt to find his voice box, Zack merely nodded his head.

"So," he began, awkwardly clearing his throat, "Wh-what's been going on, Max?"

Mischievously biting her lip in fake uncertainty, Max gradually heaved her shoulders in a shrug as the sound of the school bell abruptly reverberated throughout the entire school.

"Sorry, Zack, class time. I'll have to talk to you later."

As the busty brunette turned on her heels, hugging her book-binder close to her chest, Zack felt his heart sink at the missed opportunity to catch up with one of his oldest friends. That, and did he mention she was hot?

"Max, wait!" he called, but to no avail as Max continued to power along in the direction of her homeroom.

Knowing that she must have been purposely ignoring him like a tease, a smirk soon formed across Zack's face as he shook his head, "Am I really your favourite twin?"

Hearing this loud and clear, Max stopped and turned back around briefly, winking at Zack oh-so-flirtatiously and then heading back off in whichever route it was she was going.

While the rest of the students that had moments ago filled the hallways to the brink quickly began to continue filing out to their homerooms, Zack stood by himself in the middle of the corridor, left with nothing but the slight pitter-patter sound of his heart swelling happily in his chest and the thought of his little brother slaving away with his mass amounts of dirty laundry for the entire summer.

"Best. Year. Ever."

* * *

**Maddie Who, right?**

**Hello everybody :) What did we think of this chapter then? In case you haven't noticed the immediate pattern, the chapters with this story and going to take it in turns jumping from Cody to Zack throughout the story :) **

**Sorry it's - again - taken me so long to update. I hope it was worth the wait :) what did we think of Max making a reappearance in the Suite Life cast? And does anyone have any ideas so far as to where that might lead?**

**Also, quick thanks to Tiger for letting me know that Zack actually was old enough to drive without the assistance of an adult. Legend!**

**Till next time guys, please remember to review! Thanks heaps :)**

**Reneyyyyyyy x.  
**


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